The sport of paintball generally involves individuals or teams armed with pneumatic launchers (“guns” or “markers”) that shoot pellets filled with paint (“paintballs”). The objectives of different games may vary, but a common feature is that the teams or individuals shoot the pellets at each other or other targets, and measure a score based on hits made on the targets.
The sport has become quite competitive over the years, and accordingly a variety of improvements to a basic pneumatic gun have been made. In recent years, paintball markers have been equipped with electrical or electronic components so as to allow faster firing, to make actuating the trigger easier, and to provide information or control concerning the operation of the marker. For example, rather than a mechanical linkage between a trigger and a pressurized-gas source, markers are known that have hard-wired electronic contacts associated with the trigger, with a circuit connected through the gas source, so that pulling a trigger sends a signal to a valve that briefly opens to allow pressurized gas to propel a paint pellet. Similarly, counters or other sensors attached to various parts of the gun can be used to gather data about the use or performance of the gun.
There are also loader devices that are used with paintball markers and act as a reservoir for paintballs, feeding them into the marker for firing. Such devices have also been equipped with electric or electronic parts, particularly to maintain steady feeding of paintballs and to count or monitor the usage of the paintballs.
Existing paintball equipment maintains the most sophisticated and important circuitry in the marker. This is generally because the marker is considered the most important part of such a system, and because its firing and other operational characteristics are generally considered the vital features to monitor and change. Currently, however, a user trades or replaces his or her marker relatively frequently. High-end marker frames are also carefully manufactured by milling and other processes to ensure an excellent grip and balance. Repairs or changes to features of a marker are thus difficult, and can result in damage to an expensive marker. An existing device places a screen and buttons for changing the characteristics of a paintball marker in the marker's handle (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,682). While an advance over devices that came before it, that configuration is hard to use effectively because the user must move his or her hand from the handle in order to view the screen and press the buttons. A more user-friendly device and methods for monitoring and communicating parameters for paintball equipment and events is needed.
Most performance guns and loaders currently available contain an electronic circuit board in both the loader and the gun. The circuit board in the gun (the “gun board”) operates largely independently from the circuit board in the loader (the “loader board”). For example, the gun board is powered by a battery in the paintball gun, while the loader board is powered by a separate battery in the loader. Similarly, the gun board monitors various switches and sensors (e.g. those in the gun) independently of those monitored by the loader board (e.g. those in the loader).
Some paintball systems attempt to bridge the informational gap between the gun board and loader board by installing wireless devices on each (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,627 to Higgins et al.). By using wireless communication between the gun board and loader board, these embodiments significantly reduce the time which the loader board sits idle before acknowledging that the gun board it is attached to has fired a paintball, and thus noting the need for the loader to load additional paintballs into the marker. Wireless communication between the gun and loader synchronizes the two electronic systems, resulting in faster paintball feeding, faster rates of fire, fewer malfunctions, and generally better performance.
While the wireless systems are an improvement from their predecessor, the introduction of wireless technologies into paintball equipment has created a number of technical and manufacturing obstacles. First, manufacturers must install wireless transceivers in or on both the gun boards and loader boards so the two circuit boards can communicate. Such transceivers are typically expensive, and sometimes requires that a number of additional components be included to support the wireless operations (an antenna, as one example). Second, technical difficulties can arise when a plurality of wireless-enabled guns and loaders enter the same space. Communication from or between one gun and loader combination may unintentionally interfere with the communications of another unit. Paintball manufacturers are known to utilize separate wireless channels or assign unique wireless keys to each gun and loader combination to prevent unintended interference, though this work-around introduces additional complexity and cost. Finally, intentional wireless emitters or radiators as described herein are required to comply with extensive, and often expensive, regulatory requirements. Moreover, every iteration of the design must be re-certified in every jurisdiction; essentially this requires certification of the same basic design every time the physical shape of the circuit board is modified to fit in a different loader or gun.
While the wireless paintball units perform better than their predecessors, the cost of implementing the improvements may deter adoption by some consumers. A cost-efficient solution is proposed.